Customer Reviews

The Sapphire Pendant

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved this book. Dara Girard has yet to disappoint me. These characters have a long history, and of course they get together in the end, but the journey to was a great one. Definitely pick this one up.

The Sapphire Pendant is an UNUSUAL romance...one that forces the hero and the heroine to recognize and accept their true self before they can truly find their HEA with each other...Kenneth and Jessie's connection is DEEP...and their journey is TOUCHING and emotional as they each struggle with their own inner demons throughout...even though the story has a few slow patches...Ms. Girard's writing style, once again keeps me turning the pages with some UNEXPECTED twists and a COLORFUL cast of characters...another INTRIGUING tale...I would also love to read a follow-up to this story...just to DISCOVER what happens with some of the secondary cast of characters.

Reviewed by Shawn Remfrey

Jessie comes from a long line of jewelers. She has been taught that each stone, each hunk of metal, holds ingrained a piece of history, a moment in time. Each piece of jewelry holds a special place in the world. One such piece, a sapphire pendant, has been missing from her family's treasure for awhile. It had to be sold to Deborah's wealthy family to send Jessie to college, and since then,

Jessie and her two sisters have been trying to raise the money to buy it and put it back where it belongs. Jessie's other talents include reading stones to tell the future-and being extremely clumsy. She knows she isn't beautiful, but she's smart and resourceful to compensate.

Kenneth is a hard worker with a difficult past. He does everything he can to live up to the Preston name. Prestons are honest, loyal, and full of integrity. To the outside world, Kenneth is known as Mr. Perfect. He has lots of money, girls swooning at his feet, a beautiful home, and the looks to match. Though he's having some inside trouble with the company he runs, his world seems to be perfect.

Though Kenneth and Jessie have had a strained relationship since high school, things get alot worse when Deborah, a scheming socialite, proposes a bet. If Jessie can get Kenneth to take her to a specific party, Deborah will return the sapphire pendant to Jessie's family. If Jessie loses, then she has to be Deborah's maid for a full year. To make matters worse, Kenneth's niece has run away from home and decided to live with him.

This was an engaging story, but I was mentally drawn to two different time periods. Several times when I was reading the story I would get the feel of the 1800s, and then all of a sudden there would be an electronics company. The way that the story is told doesn't seem to match the era it is placed in. The characters are somewhat realistic, but almost to the point of not being believable. I felt as if I was being pulled from one extreme to the other. One moment I loved the characters and could completely relate, and the next moment I was completely confused because I couldn't figure out why the character was behaving the way they were.

However, Dara Girard's writing style was the saving grace of this story. She kept me flipping from page to page until the very end.

Armchair Interviews says: A story with strong characters and writing that could have had better with some attention to time and place.

Jessie Clifton is your classic ugly duckling with a heart of gold. She is one of three sisters with a family secret that will either make or break them. Jessie being the more impulsive sister takes a bet in order to retrieve a family heirloom, The Sapphire Pendant. This is where Kenneth Preston enters, or should I say re-enters, the picture. Jessie and Kenneth already have a past history, one that Jessie will never forgive him for. However, he is the key to her getting the pendant back.

Kenneth has a lot of demons of his own to conquer. His family is not quite what they seem and Kenneth has always been pressured to keep up the pretense. But when his wayward niece arrives proving that he can't run from the past, Kenneth begins to re-think his position in their upstanding Caribbean community.

I am not entirely sure if this Caribbean community really exists in Maryland, but it was written so realistically that at this point it doesn't matter. Ms. Girard, once again, takes you into the lives and code of honor of the Caribbean people. A colorful cast of characters lends drama and ethnicity to a most intriguing love story.

The Sapphire Pendant is different from your ordinary romance in that Kenneth and Jessie are forced to fall in love with their true selves, not the image that Kenneth has built for himself and not the tainted personality that the community has created for Jessie. Their connection is deep and reaches into the souls of two very vulnerable people. It was moving and triumphant. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and would recommend it to any lover of romance.

Reviewed by: A.C. Arthur, Black Butterfly Review

I loved this story. Very funny and endearing. I love stories like this. I saw tru love in this. buy it today!

I really did enjoy this book. This is an outstanding read. I loved the story line, the flow of the story, the characters, the laughs, the sadness. Ms. Girard, the is an outstanding book. Thank you.